A straight New York man last year filed a slander suit against a woman who called him gay, claiming the false description damaged his very heterosexual relationship.
Though a Broome County court originally let the case go through, a judge today tossed the suit because "tremendous evolution" has changed social ideas of LGBT people.
From the Wall Street Journal:
A mid-level appeals court in New York says it's no longer slander to falsely call someone gay.
The court says that although falsely calling someone gay or lesbian has for decades been grounds for slander, that's no longer the case because being gay is no longer seen by society as negative.
…
The court says a "tremendous evolution of social attitudes" and rights afforded to gays prompted the decision that overrules previous rulings.
Let this be a lesson to people who freak out over being called gay – times have changed.
